I have gone into court on many occasions and felt that I should have won where a Judge decided against me. In life there are many battles. Though we have to pick and choose our battles…as it is not possible to fight everything all of the time. And when fighting them…we always have to be prepared to loose.

Loosing is as much a part of the process as anything else. There are times in life when we loose and there will times in life when we win. It is a fact. And if you are in sales…they will tell you that ‘it is the law of averages’…meaning sooner or later either is bound to happen.

Bernice and Martin L. King III were recently in court with their brother Dexter who sued them to have their mother’s letters released to him. As he claimed his mother’s letters are part of his father’s estate. Since he negoiated a book deal for $1.4 million for his mother’s memoirs it stands to reason as to why he would want those letters to be in his possession.

One of the best things the court has incorporated in it…is the appeal process. It is not often used as it can be a much harder battle…just preparing the proper paperwork and submitting it as the court requests it to be formatted can be overwhelming in of itself. But the state Court of Appeals are a near final step…you can always go back into court and ask the Judge to reconsider his discision by setting it aside. Which many times though you may get a court date, some Judges just won’t change their minds…not unless you really come up with some evidence which can really sway them to the other side…and that is provided that the Judge is willing to listen to it in the first place. Some Judges can be very difficult and quite hardnose.

Then, if you are still not satified because the Judge failed to change his mind, you may inform the court that you are going to appeal…and BAM! You submit the court with your Notice of Appeal. And you are on your way to the state court to appeal that decision, verdict or whatever the argument or contested matter is of that case.

Now, little Dexter has been busily selling off as much of the King estate as he can while lavashing himself with million dollar property in California…LA to be exact, as he desires to enter into the movie business ad plans on relocating. Well, he has pretty much actually done that…moved from Atlanta for the sandy beaches of LA. And also for the stage lights of the Hollywood sets…well, this not quite. What he doesn’t understand about the movie business…is that he looks too much like his father to make it in Hollywood. The only person he could possibly play would be his father…and I do understand the magic of make-up and all of that…and there are not enough movies being made about Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. to bring his son’s dream into reality.

The point I am making regarding casting of movies….Martin L. King’s face is known around the world. No one would belive or accept a character who looked like Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. as any one else outside of being Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.. In order for it to work his son would have to be able to beat Densel acting, where he could assume a role and make that role, or character come so alive in a way that in the viewing of the movie the audience didn’t see Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. but whatever character Denzel…I mean Dexter was playing. And that is not an easy task.

So, Dexter will never make it in LA as an actor…and you can tell him…I said it. If it were possible Yolanda King who studied drama and was an actor would have been able to find success in the business. But even as woman…she looked very much like her father. In a business where people suspend reality…it is hard to do that when you are looking into the face of Civil Rights icon and trying to imagine or see him as anything else but that Civil Rights icon…and that is exactly what Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. was, and still is…a Civil Rights icon.

The current letters which the court gave Dexter access to are letters written to their mother from their father during the Civil Rights Movement.

Because Rev. Bernice King is supposedly legally over their mother’s estate, it is interesting to me that the Judge would have awarded Dexter with that decision. And Dexter is in control of the Martin L. King, Jr. Center for Non-Violence and his father’s estate.

You have got to have the right lawyer or lawyers. And I am going to tell you something that lawyers hate. Sometimes you have to kick the lawyers to the curb and better go in fighting for yourself…if you have the skill and ability to do it.

Who better to represent you…than you?

But without the proper verbal skills or confidence…and the ability to restrain your emotions…you better not try it. At times in court I have been good…but during family matters I many times just break. Family stuff hurts.

I don’t think that I am all that confident…and believe me when you start standing in front of the Judge having to defend yourself it is even worst. They have terms…legal terms that will fly right over your head. And I should know…because a few of them have flown over mine.

There were times when I wish I had done or said that…at the time it came to me but I didn’t do it. Later afterwards…I could have kicked myself time and time again for not having done so…because it cost me the case. Or I wished I had been smarter.

The first case I ever won was a case I took into Small Claims Court. I had bought a car. The ad read ‘great running condition’ etc…etc… And when I tested the car it ran beautifully. But the next day when I went back to pick it up and give them my money…the car never ran properly. I have no idea what it was…or what they did to it…but I ended up buying a beautiful looking vehicle…but mechanically it was not the vehicle I had tested.

I quickly found the newspaper ad and file my complaint in Small Claims. Small Claims Court is very much like Judge Judy’s show presents it to be. You stand up there and tell your side, show what you have to back it up…then the other side talks…and after a while the Judge ususally says you’ll receive your decision in the mail…whereas on TV…Judge Judy renders a decision during the show.

So, I presented my complaint before the Judge and I got my decision in the mail. And guess what?

The Judge was very nice to me. I had won. But I not only won my money back…but the Judge let me keep the car too. And those people who had sold me the car they paid me all of my money back sending me weekly amounts until I had totally received it all back. And I got the car fixed. It was a beautiful Bonneville convertible, 1968. I could not get out of the car without finding notes on from people interested in buying it from. But this ended being a very expense lesson for the people who sold me that car.

Judges as a rule are not that overwhelmingly kind or generous. So, for a very long time I walked around thinking how I was so smart because I had won…and won like that. But now I have come to realize…that I am not that smart at all…but just exceedingly blessed. I have a very dear and good friend who sits high and looks low…and sees and knows everything.

I never won that case. God did…He won it for me. And many times you go into court…you should really consider Him. I have had many different outcomes in court…but each one whether I have won them or lost them…I knew that God did it. If I didn’t win, I knew that there was something in that case that God desired to show me…or have me consider.

I almost always take everything as a learning experience. I may not always like the outcome of the set of events…but the lessons behind them have lead me not to do somethings again…or seek to do somethings a lot better. And each time I have always found that they were setting me up for the case…which oftentimes were bigger and more important…like our Appellate case in Carolina now.

The lawyers have a this saying, “Only a fool is his own lawyer.”

And unless you are a very quick learner and can adapt quickly…and also…this is a very important point…have the ability to speak up for yourself…and can be quiet while the Judge is talking or listening…unless you can do these things think twice of going into court ‘pro-se’…which means representing yourself. You have to be concise, to the point and extremely well thought out…and certainly able to prove your case for real evidence…whether a paper trail or bills or some type of contract etc… You must be able to prove your case. And need to definitely pick your fights.

And if it is a case that you get to make a decision as to whether the jury decides or the Judge…go jury. Twelve or 6 people give you a better chance at winning.

Recently, I had a case thrown out of court. I brought it against a local doctor and hospital here. I knew the probability of my winning the case was low…but I just could not let it go. For what that doctor did to me…he definitely deserved to be sued. And though I knew I was entering into a very steep up-hill battle…I decided to file my complaint any how. Which is what I did…because the way I figured it out even if I lost…and here is another point.

You have to really be careful at bringing a case that you might loose because the other side will turn around and levy all their court fees, lawyer fees and everything else they can against you. And you could end up having to pay a lot more than what you thought.

But I decided to go forward with my case against that doctor. The case never got very far because to get specialist and all of that costs money…but I knew one thing. I knew that all legal cases become public record…and that is what I sought to do. I knew I couldn’t probably win one way…but I got him the other way. My complaint against him was and is public record. Now, any lawyers seeking to bring a case against him and are looking for amunition against for another complaint…well, they will come upon my case and be able to read in full detail why I bought that law suit. That is why I did it.

We are hoping that everything works out well for the King Family with regard to their current battles. It is very difficult dealing with family matters. And not all times does the right or the truthful party win. But one thing is for sure God will work it out for your good.

God bless…and be encouraged all.

Talking about God. If you read my blog on my parent’s furnace almost exploding. Yes, I am suppose to be in cold…as the furnace is gone. But God gave my parents the wisdom not to have the heat and hot water tied into one. The hot water tank is separate…which mean I still have hot water. So, if I have to go through the winter without the furnace…I can. Because I still have electricity and I still have the stove.